The View from Honolulu

I've been in Honolulu since Thursday. Along with my wife and two deacons from Tabernacle, our youth are here for eight days and seven nights. It's part of our fellowship and cultural study for youth. This makes state #50. Last year it was Alasaka.

Sunday, we attended the Waikiki Baptist Church. It was close to our hotel. We didn't know what to wear. So All 25 of us put on suits and ties, like most traditional Louisiana Christians. We were over dressed. No one had on a tie, not even the preacher.

We didn't feel odd though, we dressed they way we felt comfortable for worship. We felt safe in a Baptist Church. In a strange city where the hotels have four bibles in the desk instead of one, is a little unsettling. There was the "Sayings of Buddha","The Book of Mormon","The King James Bible" and "The Aloha Testament." We didn't know what to expect. We looked for a Baptist Church or least a Methodist or a COGIC congregation nearby. We didn't know what "Non-Denominational" would mean since that has no clear meaning and changes from culture to culture. We saw a Baptist Church and chose to attend the Waikiki services.

We attended Sunday School and I was impressed with the wisdom of the instructor. The class and its members were very warm and receptive. If we had reservations about being Black and 4,500 miles away from home, the mixed cultured class took away our reservations. They were accustomed to people of many races. Visitation at this congregation just blocks from the largest hotels was 75 percent of their Sunday attendance.

We should have noticed it at first, but it took some time for us to really realize what we were experiencing. The truth we learned left a sad note in our hearts. There were absolutely no youth. No youth department. No babies. No teenagers. All senior citizens.

The minister who preached talked about Stewardship. But the bulk of his message was about leaving a gift to the church at death, living wills, and illustrations about dying and leaving something behind.

The people themselves were so friendly. They were very warm, friendly and welcomed the large audience of visitors from USA, Russia, Australia, New Zeland and other places. One family of visitors brought brought a young child about seven years old.

There were children in the house; but they were all visitors.

The expected skirms and figitry of youth, amidst the aging silence of this congregation of sainted souls said more than words could say: A church that does not cultivate its youth has only one thing to look forward to in this life...living wills and figuring out how to live without children or grandchildren to carry on the legacy of its local congregation.

It's a picture that I will keep in my mind and reflect on it the next time someone criticizes our congregation for spending so much time and money developing our youth.

Amid the excitement, culture and leisure of Hawaii; that single picture lingers.